USA College of Medicine Annual Report Now Online

The Annual Report of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine catalogs the accomplishments of faculty, students, residents, fellows and staff in teaching, research, scholarly and community service during the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

The full report is now available online.

USA Health Hosts Meet & Greet for Dr. Michael Chang

Owen Bailey, chief executive officer for USA Health, introduces Dr. Michael Chang, new chief medical officer for USA Health.

USA Health hosted a Meet & Greet for Dr. Michael Chang Nov. 13, at Dumbwaiter Restaurant in Springhill. More than 100 people attended the reception.

Dr. Chang recently was named chief medical officer for USA Health and associate vice president for medical affairs and professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

View more photos from the event.

Dr. Pack-Mabien Receives 2018 Outstanding Regional Nurse Practitioner Award

Dr. Ardie Pack-Mabien, nurse practitioner at the University of South Alabama Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, recently was selected as the 2018 Outstanding Regional Nurse Practitioner for the Bay Area by the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama.

“I feel extremely proud and humble to be recognized by nurse practitioners in this region for my commitment to the care of individuals in Alabama, but more so for making differences in the lives of my patients here at USA,” she said.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Pack-Mabien has provided comprehensive medical care, education and counseling with compassion and dedication to adults and children with sickle cell disease at USA Health.

“It is very gratifying to have a child hug my neck in the office or draw me a picture, an adolescent or young adult come to me in a public setting with a sense of pride just to say, ‘Hi, Mrs. Ardie,’ or the parents of my patients comforted and reassured after a long and extensive conversation about their child’s current illness. I can’t even imagine myself doing anything else,” Dr. Pack-Mabien said.

Dr. Pack-Mabien graduated from the USA College of Nursing with a bachelor degree, and received her master’s degree from the University of Mobile and her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The NPAA awards provide an opportunity to give recognition to individual health care providers, educators or advocates, the in-the-trenches team members and the leaders who inspire, motivate and empower others around them to make a difference in the lives of those for whom they provide care. Learn more about the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama.

USA Health Physicians Group Welcomes New Urologists

Dr. William Terry and Dr. Lorie Fleck are accepting new patients at University Urology.

University Urology – a newly established USA Health Physicians Group clinic – recently welcomed two urologists, Dr. Lorie Fleck and Dr. William Terry.

As the only urology clinic in the area backed by the resources of academic medicine, Dr. Fleck said she is looking forward to work alongside Dr. Terry to bring urology services to USA Health.

“In addition to seeing patients at the clinic, I will also serve as an adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine,” Dr. Fleck said. “I am excited about the opportunity to combine patient care with teaching and research.”

Dr. Fleck earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, where she also completed her residency training in urology. She is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, American Medical Association, American Urologic Association, Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology and the Society of Women in Urology. She also serves as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is board-certified by the American Board of Urology. She is subspecialty board-certified in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Terry, who also serves as adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine, said he is looking forward to serving the community that molded him into the physician he is today.

“Being a part of a health care system that has both great leadership and caring and well-trained physicians is a huge win for not only USA, but also the Mobile region,” he said. “I am happy to be part of this equation.”

Dr. Terry earned his medical degree from the USA College of Medicine in 2008 and completed an internship in general surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He then completed his residency training in urology at UAB.

University Urology is located at 3290 Dauphin St. in Suite 301. Both Dr. Fleck and Dr. Terry are now accepting new patients. To make an appointment, call (251) 660-5930.

USA College of Medicine Expands Intramural Grants Program

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine provides funds for basic science or translational research through an annual competitive Intramural Grants Program for faculty to develop new research ideas (seed funding), develop new critical preliminary data for revised extramural proposal submissions, or enable sustained research progress between extramural grant funding periods (bridge funding).

The USA College of Medicine has expanded the Intramural Grants Program to allow:

• Two cycles per year, funding permitting
• All COM full-time faculty to submit as principal investigators
• COM faculty with less than $300,000 in extramural support to apply for seed funding to develop new ideas

The USA College of Medicine has launched the competition for Cycle 2.  Details are outlined below:

• Internal Submission Deadline: Monday, Jan. 14, 2019
• Award Cycle: March 1, 2019 - Feb. 29, 2020
• Discipline/Subject Area: Basic science or translational research programs
• Funding Available: $150,000.00
• Eligibility: Full-time faculty (assistant professor or above) with primary appointment in the COM are eligible to apply as principal investigators. 

Collaborative proposals with co-investigators in other departments/units are encouraged. Clinical trials will not be supported.

Click here for more information and to apply for the competition.